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Recommendation for additional days departing from Lake Como

My hubby and I are planning to go to Lake Como mid-September '20 for 5 nights. A little about our interests: We plan to tour the lake by boat visiting Varenna, Bellagio, Lenno, tour some villas, hike some trails, day trip to Lugano. We like to stay active by organizing our planned activities in the mornings and having leisurely afternoons strolling streets, people watching, stopping for a casual lunch over a glass or two and meeting people and definitely enjoy afternoon aperitivo and late leisurely dinners. We love food and great wine. We also enjoy doing wine tastings/pairings and maybe a cooking class (could use any recommendations on finding that).

My main question is after our five nights we would like stay another 5 nights and not sure if we should go south east or south west of the lake - toward Barolo or toward Bologna or open for suggestions? We love the feel you get from quaint small villages and stumbling across hidden gems and we will have a car. Haven't made any flight arrangements, traveling from Boston, MA. Have already been to Florence, Venice, Pisa, Milan and CT. Thanks so much for any suggestions you may have.
Grazie mille!

Posted by
907 posts

Alba and Asti for your wine cravings.

Bologna, Verona, San Marino, San Leo, Lake Garda (Sirmione), etc. lots to the east.

Posted by
5770 posts

I'm just curious- where are you all staying in Lake Como?
We stayed in Varenna this past spring, and had a great time at the cooking class RS recommended in the Guide Book. The chef himself picked us up in Varenna, and it was about a 6 hour activity.
Safe travels to this beautiful area.

Posted by
872 posts

Read this about driving in Italy and restrictions involved [ZTLs]; avoid leaving anything of value in a car when parked:

http://driventoit.blogspot.com/

Be sure anyone driving has an IDP. If your next stop[s] are better reached by train, you can dump a Hertz rental in Como or Lecco.

Posted by
3300 posts

Visit the city of Como and take the funicular up to Brunate for great views of the city, lake and alps. Then go west! The wine villages of the Piedmont are wonderful as is the food. The white Truffle festival begins in early October in Alba. I stayed in Barbaresco at Agriturismo Tre Stelle and it was wonderful. If you want to go a little further north, visit Torino and head up to Val d’Aosta. Then continue to Courmayeur to ride up the Skyway Monte Bianco.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you very much. We plan to stay in Menaggio. We’ve driven in Italy a number of times. We like being able to stop when we stumble on something. The truffle festival is exactly something we would love to go to. Great information. This is exactly what I was looking for. How is the weather in late September on Lake Como? We haven’t made any reservations yet so can maybe adjust to the end of September to make the festival in October if possible. We plan to rent an apartment, or like, in Menaggio as my two adult daughters will join us for the Lake Como portion. Any recommendations on a place would be great.